


Scrapbook

by WingedFlight



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: In-Universe Non-Fiction, in-universe fiction and fanfiction, outsider pov, superhero fan culture, the other special babies, way too many mcr references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:33:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23351746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WingedFlight/pseuds/WingedFlight
Summary: A collection of excerpts from news articles and journals, licensed and unlicensed partially-fictionalized accounts, and (of course) the controversial autobiography by Vanya Hargreeves herself.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40
Collections: Worldbuilding Exchange 2020





	Scrapbook

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Redrikki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redrikki/gifts).



**Article clipped from the Toronto Star, written by reporter Edward Hughs:**

**FATHER OF MODERN EXPLORATION FACES BRAVE NEW WORLD** **  
** **Reginald Hargreeves becomes Father of Seven in One Fell Swoop**

Toronto, ON | Renowned throughout the world for his modern explorations and scientific achievements, Sir Reginald Hargreeves shocked the world this past Saturday with an announcement of rather different caliber: he’s a father. 

A father seven times over, in fact. For reasons as yet undisclosed, Hargreeves has made the decision to adopt seven children as his own. The infants were all exactly three months old as of the Saturday press conference, sharing not only a birthdate but also the peculiar circumstances of their birth despite hailing from different countries of origin.

As one may recall, this Saturday was also the three month anniversary of a strange and as-yet-unexplained phenomenon in which women around the globe gave birth at the exact same moment despite having shown no signs of pregnancy even minutes prior. 

Hargreeves has asked that privacy be respected in matters of his family. The names of his children have not yet been released to the public. 

* * *

**Page from** **_The Umbrella Academy Vol 1_ ** **, the officially licensed graphic novel created by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba:**

****

* * *

**Excerpt from** **_Extra-Ordinary: My Life as Number Seven,_ ** **autobiography by Vanya Hargreeves:**

Sometimes, I wonder what my birth mother was like. 

Our father made it a policy not to divulge the particular circumstances of our individual births, our biological mothers, our home countries. I think he didn’t want us to waste time dreaming of what our lives might have been like if he’d never adopted us, but it takes more than withheld information to stop the imagination of a lonely child. 

On my loneliest days, I would climb all the way up to the attic where I’d built myself a hideaway behind an old steamer trunk. It was my own private spot to daydream an alternate life where someone else thought I was important. With a Russian name, it was easy to believe myself the daughter of some Tsarina who’d escaped the Revolution. I suppose it says a lot that I would rather have been living a destitute life in hiding with a mother all to myself than to be the oft-forgotten and least-interesting seventh adopted child of Reginald Hargreeves. 

* * *

**Excerpt from the Fan Fiction** **_How I Disappear_ ** **by Paraguas, published in** **_Under the Umbrella: The Fanzine Vol 2:_ **

“Time for a little teleportation demonstration!” exclaimed Five, leaping into the air with a fist-pump of truly epic proportions. He blinked out of existence at the peak of his jump, landing a second later across the room. 

Anna-Marie’s jaw dropped. “Is that for real!” she squeaked. “You were just--and then you just--and I--and--” 

Five gave her a grandiose bow. “Just a little party trick that comes in handy from time to time. A part of my charm, if you will.” 

She giggled in appreciation for said charm, only to grow somber as a realization came over her. “But Five, if you have the ability to teleport anywhere in the blink of an eye, why do you remain here in the depths of the Amazonian rain forest with none but a toucan for company when you could just as easily return to the comforts of your home and family?” 

* * *

**Autograph of Number 4, also known as Klaus Hargreeves:**

* * *

**Print-Out of the three most popular fanfictions published under the category** **_The Umbrella Academy (RPF)_ ** **on the website Archive of Our Own:**

the light behind your eyes by  xUmbrellaFan7x   
The Umbrella Academy (RPF)

**No Archive Warnings Apply,** Klaus Hargreeves | Number Four/Reader, Klaus Hargreeves | Number Four, The Hargreeves Family, Reader OC, Fluff and Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Protective Klaus, Everyone Needs a Hug

You find Klaus after the bank job. He’s grinning as usual, but there’s a bruise on his forehead. 

Part 2 of  Internal Ghosts

+

Goodbye Today by  SkyBlueAntennae   
The Umbrella Academy (RPF) ,  Cosmic Heroes (RPF)

**Depictions of Violence,** Alison Hargreeves | Number Three/Jaq “Lightning” Osler, Alison Hargreeves | Number Three, Jaq “Lightning” Osler, Diego Hargreeves | Number Two, Tanya “Sparks” Wicker, Superhero Crossover Event

When on holiday to Australia, Alison and Diego of the Umbrella Academy run into Lightning and Sparks of the Cosmic Heroes. But can these heroes work together to stop a great evil, or will their personalities get in the way? 

+

Disappear Forever by  callme8   
The Umbrella Academy (RPF)

**No Archive Warnings Apply,** Diego Hargreeves | Number Two, Vanya Hargreeves | Number Seven, The Hargreeves Family, Alternate Universe

What if Number 7 had superpowers too? Vanya Hargreeves is number 7 gifted with the power of flight. but she’s never quite fit in, until her adoptive brother Diego tells her a secret…….

* * *

**Excerpt from** **_Blessed From Birth: The Cosmic Babies Are All Grown Up And Ready To Talk_ ** **by Phillip Portillo, published to the New York Times website:**

_ Born October 1, 1989, Silas Lamar belongs to an exclusive club: he is one of 43 known babies to have been the result of an still unexplained phenomenon, known as the Cosmic Birth, of simultaneous virgin births across the globe twenty-three years ago. The only thing we do know: many of the documented individuals born from this event have manifested supernatural abilities, such as Jaq “Lightning” Osler, Dr. Marissa Queen, and of course the Hargreeves Family (colloquially known as The Umbrella Academy). _

**You’ve been shielded most of your life from the public’s eye. Was that your mother’s choice? Did you know about the special circumstances of your birth growing up?**

Oh yeah, yeah for sure. My mom--I love my mom, she’s great. She’d do anything for me. She’s my hero. It sure wasn’t easy for her, back when I was born. Not that I was there--I mean, I was there, but I was a baby, right? People were freaking out about the whole thing, my mom was freaking out and her mom was freaking out and then it turned out that this had happened all over the place and the whole world was freaking out for a little while. No one knew what was going on. And there were doctors and reporters and… 

Well, my mom made the decision pretty quickly that raising me right meant keeping all that on the down-low. Kept the reporters out and the normal in. And I think that was the right decision. Like, I barely even knew there was anything special about how I was born for most of my life. It wasn’t a secret, I just didn’t even know it was weird or anything for a long time, you know? 

Anyway, I think it was the right move, I got to grow up normal just like everyone else. Not like those… I mean, not like others. Certain others. You know? 

**It’s no secret that others sharing the circumstances of your birth have exhibited supernatural abilities. You’ve been tight-lipped about yourself in this regard--anything you can give us?**

I don’t know what you’re about, man. 

**Come on, surely you’ve got something? Anything weird ever happen around you?**

I mean, sometimes my knee twinges before it rains? 

* * *

**Diagram of the Hargreeves Family Tree from the notes of Phillip Portillo:**

****

* * *

**Graffitied photograph of the Umbrella Academy:**

****

* * *

**Page from** **_The Umbrella Academy Vol 2_ ** **, the officially licensed graphic novel created by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba:**

****

* * *

**Only legible excerpt from article clipped from the Toronto Star and burned from unknown causes:**

Toronto, ON | Today, the nation mourns the passing of a great man. Sir Reginald Hargreeves passed away late in the night at the---

Few can hope to contribute half as much for the world as the late Sir Hargreeves. Among his notable accomplishments are---

* * *

**Excerpt from** **_Extra-Ordinary: My Life as Number Seven,_ ** **autobiography by Vanya Hargreeves:**

My name is Vanya Hargreeves, and this is my story.

We were never a real family. We were our father’s creation, family in name but not in fact. 

In the end, after our brother Ben had died, there was really nothing connecting us. We were just strangers living under the same roof, destined to be alone, starved for attention, damaged by our upbringing, and haunted by what might have been. We all wanted to be loved by a man incapable of giving love. 

Our father never missed an opportunity to remind me that I was ordinary. A hard thing for a little girl to hear. If you’re raised to believe nothing about you is special, if the benchmark is extraordinary, what do you do if you’re not? 

**Author's Note:**

> News Articles set in Toronto papers for two reasons: a) the series never actually tells us which city the family grows up in and b) the show was filmed in Toronto.  
> Comic page images from the “licensed Umbrella Academy graphic novel” are taken from the actual factual graphic novel by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba.  
> Alison’s ex-husband as yet has no surname in the show, so I used the surname of his actor,  
> Braden Hendrickson.  
> All fanfic titles have been taken from the lyrics of My Chemical Romance songs.  
> The second excerpt from Vanya's autobiography is, of course, the actual excerpt used in the show and therefore not mine.


End file.
